Comedian: Ali Cook

Forget what you think you know about comedy magicians - Ali Cook
is edgy, intelligent, self-referential, caustically hilarious and
one of the most sought-after illusionists on the planet. Most
famous for his Channel 4 series Dirty Tricks, Cook
has just returned from a month-long run in Edinburgh where his
sell-out show Pieces of Strange was one of the best
reviewed shows of the festival. GQ saw an early
warm-up of the show in Birmingham and it was as eye-poppingly
incredible as it was funny. The finale was his version of the
Houdini water tank escape. This clip of him rehearsing it in the
back garden has been shortlisted for Ridley Scott's "Life In A Day" project:

He headlines the UK's largest venues, has starred in and
co-written seven comedy series for ITV, Channel 4, Five and Sky One
and has written and produced his own comedy short film The
Enchanter, directed by Adrian Vitoria. Cook has most recently
been an Executive Producer on Dark Tide starring Halle
Berry, due for release in 2011. Here are some of his funniest
lines:

1. "I can't stand people with paranoia. I think we should all
gang up and get 'em."

2. "I'm a practical joker. I like to go into bookshops, peel off
the sticker that says 'signed copy', then stick it on the
Bible."

3. "When you take up smoking you lose your sense of taste. I've
started wearing cowboy boots."

4. "Two words for people who think Northerners are a bit thick
and 'dead friendly': Yorkshire Ripper."

5. "Being a magician people ask me, out of all of my heroes, who
had the best sleight of hand? It's got to be Jeremy Beadle."